🔊 NRM's Ediau welcomes minister Ecweru's withdrawal from Amuria race

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The National Resistance Movement (NRM) flag bearer for Amuria County, Samuel Ediau, has welcomed the decision by works state minister Musa Ecweru to withdraw from the 2026 parliamentary race.

Ediau, who defeated Ecweru during the party primaries with a margin of 9,375 votes, described the minister’s decision as good news for the unity of the party in Amuria.

Ediau, an educationist, also appealed to Ecweru, who doubles as the NRM district chairperson, to join him on the campaign trail and mobilise support for the party.

He said he is ready to work with Ecweru to consolidate the party’s support base ahead of the 2026 general elections.

Meanwhile, during his address to the media on Tuesday, minister Ecweru did not explicitly announce plans to campaign for Ediau but urged his supporters to rally behind President Yoweri Museveni in the upcoming elections.

He also dismissed any suggestion that his withdrawal implied hostility towards Ediau, who trounced him with 29,352 votes against his 19,977 in the party primaries.

Ecweru only said that “I wish other flag-bearers well.”

Ecweru added that his decision to run independently followed pressure from the more than 19,000 votes he got in the primaries, but after what he described as “extensive consultations,” he concluded that stepping aside was the most responsible path for the unity of the ruling party.

Political analyst Julius Arugu, who serves as the project officer in charge of outreach at the Public Affairs Centre of Uganda, praised Ecweru’s decision, describing it as a rare display of political maturity and loyalty to the party.

Arugu further noted that Ecweru’s political ground in Amuria had significantly weakened after the primaries, and his withdrawal was both a strategic and respectable move.

Four candidates remain in the Amuria County race: Ediau, Samuel Olinga of FDC, Moses Ariong of NUP, and Joseph Epilu, an independent candidate.